The following background information is provided to assist the reader in understanding the environment in which the invention will typically be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any particular narrow interpretation unless specifically stated otherwise in this document.
Articulated coupling arrangements are well known in the railroad industry as the means to connect together the adjacently disposed ends of a pair of railway cars in a substantially semi-permanent fashion.
Essentially, the articulated coupling apparatus includes a female connection member and a male connection member. Each member has one end thereof being engaged with and connected to an end of a center sill member of a respective railway car. Prior to the conception and development of the present invention, the opposed ends of each member were operably interconnected therebetween by way of a bearing assembly that typically includes a spherical ball member and bearing races for improving performance of the articulated coupling apparatus.
As it is also well known, prior art articulated coupling apparatus must be periodically reconditioned during service by replacing the bearing races due to deterioration of their surfaces during railway car service.
It has been found that during operation and use of the prior art articulated coupling apparatus, deterioration of the bearing race surfaces propagates a gap which forms between the inner surfaces of the bearing races and the outer surface of the spherical bearing and which incrementally increases during use. Such gap adversely affects operation of the articulated coupling apparatus until such reconditioning effort occurs.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide reliable and economical articulated coupling apparatus which compensates for wear and deterioration of mating bearing surfaces and prevents formation of a gap therebetween during service.